


Broken Cross (excerpt)

by angelskuuipo



Series: Fic-A-Palooza 2009 [9]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Early Work, F/M, First Time, GFY, I swear one day I will finish writing a novel, Modern Day Western, Romance, excerpt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-13
Updated: 2014-06-13
Packaged: 2018-02-04 11:58:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1778230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelskuuipo/pseuds/angelskuuipo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gin and Travis take things a little further.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broken Cross (excerpt)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sara_merry99](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sara_merry99/gifts).



> Prompt: Original Het Smut
> 
> Written for [](http://sara-merry99.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://sara-merry99.livejournal.com/)**sara_merry99** in honor of my Fifth Writing Anniversary. Girl, my brain went into overdrive and your little smutlet 'sploded into a full-fledged novel. I hope you like this, honey. It is currently un-betaed; any mistakes are mine.
> 
> Originally posted 2-14-09.

~*~*~*~*~*~

...“Gin, what are you doing?” He called.

“I heard something! I’m gonna check it out. Y’all go on. I’ll catch up,” she called back.

“Like hell,” he muttered. He pulled even with Angel and said, “Y’all go on. If you hurry you just might beat the worst of it.”

Angel raised his eyebrows. “What about you and the fearless one?”

Travis growled. “We’ll figure something out. If I remember right there’s a line shack not too far from here. If it gets too bad, we’ll hole up there and ride in when the storm lets up. If she can still sit a horse after I’m done with her,” he said the last to himself, but Angel heard anyway and laughed.

“She’s just doing her job, _hermano_ ,” Angel pointed out.

“I know. That’s what’s so damned annoying. Go,” he said as he wheeled Cuervo around and headed back to where he’d last seen Gin.

He followed her tracks into the trees and found her trying to cut a calf loose that had gotten tangled up some creeper vines. “How the hell’d this little one get all the way down here?” He asked incredulously.

“I have no idea,” she panted. “Hold still, you little shit,” she muttered then swore as the calf kicked out and caught a glancing blow on her bad hand, “Fucking hell!”

Travis vaulted off Cuervo and pulled Gin back out of the way. He grabbed her knife from where she’d dropped it and quickly cut the calf loose. It bawled at them then took off in the direction of the rest of the herd.

He knelt down and tried to get a hold of her hand, but she was curled into a ball and had it tucked up tight to her chest. “Damn it, Gin, let me see how bad it is!” he said in exasperation.

She refused to look at him, but eventually uncurled enough to let him get her arm. He carefully pulled off her glove and swore when he saw the red seeping through the bandages.

“Shit,” he muttered.

“Think I might have torn some of the stitches,” she said needlessly.

“Ya think?” He said sarcastically.

She looked at him then and he leaned back from the fire in her green eyes. “Back off, Langston. I screwed up. I know it and you know it. Yelling at me and being a prick isn’t going to help anything. I’d do it again, too. The little guy was in trouble and I had to help him.”

Travis scowled at her, but she didn’t seem fazed, just glared back at him stubbornly. She was right, damn it, and that just annoyed him further. Thunder rumbled closer than before and she shivered. Rain was starting to filter in through the leaves and the temperature had dropped quite a few degrees. It looked like they were heading for the line shack.

He stood and pulled her to her feet, steadying her when she swayed. “Can you ride?”

“I will,” she said determinedly.

Travis sighed. So very stubborn. “I don’t think we’re gonna make it back in this. Do you remember where the line shack is?”

“Lemme get the map,” she said and headed for Quartermain. She opened her saddlebag with her good hand and pulled the map out, spreading it open against her horse’s side. “We’re about a mile northeast of it, give or take.”

“Alright, let’s get goin’,” Travis said and gave her a boost into the saddle. He undid her coat from where it was secured behind her and handed it to her. She put it on without a word, only a grimace as she pulled the sleeve over her damaged hand. He got onto Cuervo and said, “Lead the way.”

Gin set as fast a pace as she could in the steadily pouring rain. It took them about ten minutes to reach the shack and horses and riders were thoroughly soaked by then. They guided the horses under the lean-to next to it and Travis made quick work of unsaddling them. As he carried the tack and saddlebags into the shack, Gin wiped the horses down as best she could. Travis came out with two feed bags of grain. There was a hand pump for water and he filled the trough. That was about all they could do for their mounts.

Gin followed Travis into the shack and immediately went to the wood stove to get it started. He gently, but firmly moved her out of the way and took care of it himself while still managing to keep an eye on her. She glared at him, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she shrugged out of her coat and took off her hat. She spread her coat across the back of one of the chairs and laid her hat on the table. Then she went through the shack and lit a few of the lanterns so it wasn’t so gloomy.

Lightning flashed outside followed by a loud clap of thunder. He saw her jump and start to wrap her arms around herself, but aborted the move because of her hand.

Travis sighed and went to his saddlebag to get the first aid kit he’d stashed in there for ‘just in case’. Good thing he had, too. She jumped again when he laid a hand on her shoulder. “Sorry,” he said softly. “Let me fix your hand up.”

Gin sat at the table, still silent, and put her arm on the table, palm up. Travis gently unwrapped it and assessed the damage. Several of the stitches near her little finger had popped. Gin made a face and looked away. He put on a pair of surgical gloves and got the antiseptic out.

“What are you trying to prove, Gin?” He asked as he worked.

Gin looked at him. “What do you mean?”

He gave her a pointed glance and she sighed. “I want to pull my own weight. I promised Granddad that I’d take care of the Broken Cross. I don’t want to let him down.”

Travis nodded. “I get that, but you have to respect your limitations.” He forestalled her when she opened her mouth to protest. “We talked about this yesterday. If you do permanent damage to your hand you won’t be able to practice medicine anymore. Is that what you want?”

He saw tears glistening in her eyes and felt bad. He didn’t want to hurt her, he just wanted to understand.

“No,” she said softly. “I still want my practice.” She frowned. “Though with the way everyone has been lately I don’t know that it’d do much good to try and open one around here.”

He couldn’t disagree with that, but hoped things would change in the near future.

Gin sighed. “I’ve pretty much been doing everything on my own for the last three months. It’s hard for me to give up that control.” She looked at him finally. “Don’t get me wrong, Brody helps when and where he can, but there’s so much he can’t do anymore. It makes him angry and it makes me sad. It’s easier on the both of us for me to do stuff.”

“Do you like being in control?” He looked up from what he was doing to watch her face. He saw several emotions chase over it; surprise, embarrassment, resignation.

“I…sometimes,” she admitted. “It’s kind of a novel experience. My parents are very rigid people. I wasn’t given a lot of opportunity to make decisions for myself growing up. Once I left home, I was at the mercy of instructors and their expectations, and I still had the shadow of my folks hanging over me. If I didn’t perform to their standards they would have pulled my funding for school. Even after I graduated I was low man on the totem pole…being a vet, so much of what I do is left to chance. All I can do is hope and trust that I’ve made the right diagnosis and offered the right treatment. And I don’t have any control over if my clients will follow my advice or not.”

She looked at him intently. “I’ll tell you something, though. Despite all the crap I’ve put up with the last few months, I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world.”

Travis gave her a half-smile as he finished setting the last stitch. He understood her a little better now. Being in charge could be a heady thing and it looked like Gin was experiencing that for the first time. But she needed to learn when to ease back.

He lifted her hand and placed a gentle kiss to the uninjured part of her palm, monitoring her reaction. She went still, but didn’t pull away. Holding her gaze, he said, “Like I said yesterday, these hands are golden and you need to take care of them. I’m sure we’ll have this conversation a few times, but you’re not on your own here anymore. It’s time to share the burden.”

“What about when you leave?” She asked quietly.

Shit. He’d forgotten for a minute that he wasn’t here to stay. Well, he wasn’t going to lie to her.

“We’ll work something out. I won’t abandon you or the ranch, Gin. You have my word.”

She nodded thoughtfully, but didn’t say anything. She started to shiver and Travis abruptly realized they were both still in their wet clothes. Nothing like a bit of triage and a good heart-to-heart to make you forget something like clammy, clinging denim. He made quick work of wrapping Gin’s hand then said, “Let me find some towels so we can get out of these clothes.”

Gin frowned. “I honestly can’t remember if this place is stocked or not.”

“Guess we’ll find out.” Travis stripped off the latex gloves and then his shirts, because he was starting to feel the cold too. The wood stove was heating the room nicely, but it would be a while before he and Gin actually started to feel it.

He felt her eyes on him as he searched the shack. He found blankets and sheets in one steamer trunk and towels in another near the cots. Pulling out a couple of the blankets and several of the towels, Travis turned around just in time to see Gin jerk her gaze from his ass back to his face.

His lips twitched and he couldn’t help it. “Like what you see?”

He could see her cheeks flush, but she casually leaned back in her chair and gave him a thorough once over, and her voice was even when she replied, “Yeah, I do. I like the tat.”

He grinned and tossed her a towel and a blanket, turning to give her some privacy. “Thanks.” He’d gotten the soaring eagle tattoo on his shoulder just after he left home. It was a permanent reminder of what he wanted out of life: to be free, to be in control of his fate.

Tossing his own blanket and towel onto the cot, Travis shucked off his boots and socks, and shimmied out of his jeans and boxers, grimacing at the feel of cold, wet denim against his skin. He heard Gin gasp behind him and looked over his shoulder at her. His mouth went dry. She was standing there with a towel clutched to her chest and he could see the outside edges of her breasts, the curve of her bare hips. Travis slowly turned around so that he was facing her, naked.

They stared at each other, motionless. Her eyes moved over him like a caress and Travis felt himself harden. He looked at her just as hungrily, but that damn towel only revealed just enough to tease him.

The shack was silent except for the crackle of the fire in the stove and the steady thrum of rain on the roof. He wasn’t going to make the first move, he told himself. This had to be her decision.

Thunder crashed, but he noticed that she didn’t flinch. She was too absorbed in looking at him. He breathed deep as that thought shot straight to his groin.

Hesitantly, Gin dropped her towel and let Travis look his fill. He licked his lips unconsciously and felt his knees go a little weak when she visibly shuddered. He took a step towards her then paused and waited, hoping she’d get the idea. It only took a moment and then she met his step with one of her own.

Decision made.

Thank you, God.

They met in the middle of the floor. Travis brought his hands up and cradled Gin’s face, lightly rubbing his thumbs along her cheekbones. Her eyes closed and she leaned into the caress. He placed a gentle kiss to her forehead then a series of butterfly kisses to her closed eyes, her nose, her jaw, eventually stopping at her lips.

There was no hesitation in her kiss. Her lips were soft and mobile, parting sweetly when he traced the seam with his tongue. He felt her hands on his shoulders and sighed in pleasure as she started to knead them. Travis swept his hands down her back and drew her in closer to him. Her breasts brushed against his chest, causing them both to gasp. He pressed a hand to the base of her spine and his cock nestled into the soft curve of her stomach, drawing a soft moan from him.

Gin broke the kiss and they looked at each other in the soft glow of the lanterns. Her eyes were shadowed, mysterious, and Travis wanted to ask what she was thinking, but he didn’t want to break the spell that fallen over them. She slipped from his embrace and he reached to pull her back, but she just smiled and shook her head.

Travis let his hands fall to his sides and wondered if she’d changed her mind. That thought flew out the window when she walked over to the table and rummaged around in the first aid kit, coming up with a strip of condoms and an impish grin. He ran his hands through his hair and he took a couple of deep breaths as she moved towards him again, hips swaying invitingly.

When she was within reach Travis wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her up to him. Gin gasped and instinctively hooked her right knee over his hip. His cock brushed against her silky curls and he felt the dampness that signaled her growing excitement. His eyes fluttered shut as she placed biting kisses along his jaw and down his throat and he groaned harshly when she rolled her hips.

Travis cupped her backside, lifting her, and Gin wrapped her other leg around his waist. She stared down at him for a long moment then nodded almost imperceptibly. He turned and took the few steps needed to get to the first of the cots then gently lowered her down, following to stretch out beside her.

He took his time, wanting to learn what drove her wild. He found that if he kissed her knee she giggled, but moaned when he kissed the inside of her ankle. Her stomach was ticklish, but the small of her back made her writhe in pleasure. He was fascinated by that tidbit of information, because there, at the base of her spine, was a tattoo of a rearing horse.

He traced the design with his tongue and listened as Gin’s moans and pleas grew louder. Travis wondered if he could make her come just from this. He stroked a hand down her flank and back up, pausing to knead her buttock and let his fingers dip into the cleft between her cheeks. Gin arched back with a breathless cry and he got his answer.

Unable to wait any longer, Travis fumbled for the foil packet that had fallen to the floor and quickly sheathed his cock. He turned her over, wanting to look into her eyes, and before she’d had a chance to recover he entered her in one smooth thrust.

He stopped cold, because the tightness was almost unbearable. Gin’s head was arched back, eyes closed, and she was breathing deeply.

“Jesus,” he whispered. “Gin, please tell me you aren’t a virgin.”

She shook her head. “No,” she whispered back. “It’s just been a _really_ long time.” She opened her eyes and smiled at him; cupped his cheek with her good hand and brought his face down so she could place a lingering kiss on his lips. “Don’t stop,” she murmured.

“I really don’t think I could even if you wanted me to,” he said honestly.

She laughed huskily and rolled her hips. The last thread of Travis’ control snapped and he surged into her with a guttural moan. Gin cried out and held on. Her right hand scrabbled for purchase and Travis caught it in his, lacing their fingers together, and holding it down by her head. He wasn’t going to last, but it didn’t matter, because Gin shattered in his arms for the second time and he followed with a hoarse shout.

Travis managed not to crush her as he rolled to his side and pulled her with him. She went willingly and languidly draped her leg over his hip. He traced his fingers over her face, searching her eyes. For what, he didn’t know. She gave him a mysterious smile and a sweet kiss then closed her eyes.

She murmured a protest when he moved to dispose of the condom, but snuggled into his arms with a sigh when he lay down again, wrapping them both in the blanket. He held her close, tracing abstract patterns on her back, and stared at the ceiling.

Travis had a feeling he’d just made a really big decision, only he had no idea what it was.

tbc...(I hope)

**Author's Note:**

> New AN 6-13-14: I usually have actors and actresses in mind when I create characters. It makes it easier for me to see how things will play out. In this instance, Travis has always been played by Christian Kane. Gin was trickier, but I finally settled on Amber Tamblin. If you're interested in the rest of the cast of characters, let me know.


End file.
